Although it is just plain fun to rank a director's movies, it may also help me think about the director's oeuvre of work as a whole. Comparisons can help me to discover elements of film that I am drawn to, what the director finds value in revealing through their movies and possibly how the director has grown artistically.
Jonze is clearly a fan of magic realism, as am I, so that aspect is immediately appealing as he creates alternate realities that are visually and ideological stark and interesting to me personally as most films are depicted as close to reality as possible or in a complete fantasy world.
The realistic elements in his movies help ground the movie as he…
Although it is just plain fun to rank a director's movies, it may also help me think about the director's oeuvre of work as a whole. Comparisons can help me to discover elements of film that I am drawn to, what the director finds value in revealing through their movies and possibly how the director has grown artistically.
Jonze is clearly a fan of magic realism, as am I, so that aspect is immediately appealing as he creates alternate realities that are visually and ideological stark and interesting to me personally as most films are depicted as close to reality as possible or in a complete fantasy world.
The realistic elements in his movies help ground the movie as he uses the surreal elements to explore very real facets of what it means to be human. On a very basic level, his characters often are struggling with their own identities and are struggling to become a version of themselves they see as better.
To this end, his characters often go to great lengths, using specific methods or tools to achieve fulfillment, often with complicated consequences and results the characters have to work for.
So Jonze doesn't depict an easy life, but one that is a deep and complex journey, both within oneself and as a social being. He does seem to be most interested in exploring the inner life of his protagonists and sometimes contrasts them with side characters who, at least appear to have simpler lives and simpler desires. However, he does best when his characters' nuanced desires come into conflict with one another which is what life in society is so much about.
Other directors I have ranked:
JJ Abrams | PT Anderson | Wes Anderson | Judd Apatow | Darren Aronofsky | Ari Aster | Sean Baker | Bong Joon-ho | Jane Campion | Charlie Chaplin | Damien Chazelle | Coen Brothers | Sofia Coppola | Cameron Crowe | Andrew Dominik | Robert Eggers | David Fincher | Alex Garland | Greta Gerwig | Todd Haynes | Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu | Jim Jarmusch | Rian Johnson | Satoshi Kon | Stanley Kubrick | Sergio Leone | Richard Linklater | George Lucas | David Lynch | Martin McDonagh | Steve McQueen | Sam Mendes | Nancy Meyers | Hayao Miyazaki | Jeff Nichols | Christopher Nolan | Alexander Payne | Sarah Polley | Lynn Ramsay | Céline Sciamma | Ben Stiller | Quentin Tarantino | Andrei Tarkovsky | Taika Waititi | Edgar Wright | Chloé Zhao
